22 May,2011 09:20 AM IST | | Yoshita Sengupta
A 300-member brass band from dusty Jabalpur performs at international fests and has even inspired a UK street band to change its name. Back home, they remain a shaadi ka band; their next big gig is at the June wedding of the Chhattisgarh CM's son
Manoj Prasad can blow his own trumpet. We mean, literally. "Next month, we will be the flavour of the wedding of the Chhattisgarh CM's son," says the 35 year-old saxophone player over the phone from Jabalpur, referring to Raman Singh's son's wedding on June 24. Prasad, a saxophone player, will be joined by a 300-member strong contingent of musicians, who form the Shyam Brass Band (SBB), a 40 year-old old-school brass band that has played at the International Festival of Street Music in London and cut albums with Tips Music, a record label.
Jabalpur, a city that lies on the eastern edge of Madhya Pradesh is known for its eclectic brass bands, and it's here that SBB too had its humble beginnings. Manoj Prasad's father Ishwari Prasad launched the band in 1971 as a four-piece outfit. Trumpets, trombones, saxophones, clarinets and other leather and fibre-based percussion instruments make up their musical ensemble. "We don't use synthesizers and other modern instruments; that would ruin the charm of the old-school brass band," Prasad, an 'A-class' musician affiliated with All India Radio, explains.
"Now we are 300 of us. Around 150 members hail from Jabalpur, while the rest come from other parts of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh," says Prasad. Business is good all through the year, he says, since the members travel across the country to perform at stage shows, when they are not busy lighting up a baraat. Prasad learnt the saxophone from Manori Singh, assistant to legendary Bollywood composer
RD Burman. It was inevitable that Prasad would make musicu00a0-- four generations of his family have produced musicians. Ishwari Prasad played the banjo at qawwali performances before he formed a pipe band of his own. His grandfather Pyarelalji too, had a band of six.
In 1988, SBB recorded a cassette of their compositions and distributed it in Jabalpur. "It was an instant hit," remembers Prasad. Encouraged by the response, the group approached Tips Music, who agreed to release their CD in 1989. This CD became their passport to performing at shows abroad. "Judges and organisers at international music shows, who were visiting India, picked up the CD. They loved the concept and got in touch with us through Tips," he says.
In 1992, they played at the International Festival of Street Music in London, and represented South East Asia at the Annual Band Festival in Belgium in 1993. Up until 2004, they were regulars at the Diaspora Music Village, an annual London-based multi-cultural music festival. Back home, however, Prasad says, they are no more than a shaadi ka band. And that's a impression that is likely to remain unchanged even if the home crowd were to find out that this Jabalpur band inspired Crocodile Style, a British band that played samba, jazz and funk, to change its name.
The Crocs heard SBB play bhangra and Bollywood tunes at a Diwali procession in London in 1992. Happy with what they heard, they collaborated with SBB for the Festival of Street Music in UK. "They were so inspired with our music that they renamed themselves the Bollywood Brass Band. Everywhere they play, they mention us fondly," says Prasad. They would have travelledu00a0 more had they received support from the Indian government, Prasad believes. "Unlike performers who play the sitar, tabla, sarangi or any other Hindustani classical music instrument, we aren't recognised. They don't recognise our music as Indian music. Often, we are handicapped by visa issues."
When the East inspired the West
The Bollywood Brass Band (formerly Crocodile Style) collaborated with Shyam Brass Band in 1992. Inspired by their music, the UK street band pioneered Indian-style wedding music in the UK. Wielding saxophones, tablas, dhols and a colossal sousaphone, the BBB make for an energetic act. The band has performed in over 25 countries. They have also released four CDs including Bollywood Brass Band (1999), Rahmania (2002), Movie Masala (2005) and Chaiyya Chaiyya (2011).
Only SBB
> Peter Butler, a student from Darlington University, visited Jabalpur and stayed back for a month to file a research paper on SBB.
> The SBB is the only band to have performed at the Amarnath Yatra, at a height of 14,000 feet above sea level in Jammu and Kashmir, where pilgrims traverse an arduous path for darshan at a cave that's said to be the abode of Shiva and Parvati.
